Anita Mui's mother, 100, faces second bankruptcy

Cantopop singer Anita Mui's mother Tam Mei Kam may be facing her second bankruptcy after a Hong Kong justice minister recently applied to court to have her assets liquidated.

While the reason for the petition wasn't disclosed, the first court hearing will be on Dec 17, according to media reports on Oct 15.

Tam, who turned 100 earlier this year, has been the subject of media attention through the years for her attempts to fight for Anita's assets of close to HK$100 million (S$16 million) and increasing her monthly allowance after Anita died of cervical cancer at age 40 in December 2003.

Tam was first declared bankrupt in April 2012 as she didn't pay her lawyer fees amounting to HK$2.24 million after losing a legal battle for Anita's estate. She was discharged from the order in 2016.

In 2017, another bankruptcy report was filed for her as she was unable to pay her lawyers, but she paid off her debts ultimately.

Tam receives more than HK$200,000 per month for her living expenses now.

She also disowned her only living child Peter in 2022 after he sued the production company behind the movie Anita (2021) for allegedly infringing trademark rights, accusing him of being obsessed with money.

Last year, Peter, 72, hit back at Tam in an interview where he discussed their feud.

"She needs to take back her words, or she won't be able to rest in peace when she dies. She's the one obsessed with money, not me. I didn't even benefit [from the movie], so how could that be true?" he said then.

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yeo.shuhui@asiaone.com